Unilever Set to Trim Its Bestfoods Portfolio

Anglo-Dutch consumer products group Unilever said it would offload some secondary food and household brands from its Bestfoods North American portfolio in a sale worth about $400 million.

The company said names on the block included Mazola cooking oil, Golden Griddle syrup, Henri’s salad dressing and some household goods brands, with combined annual sales of around $400 million in North America.

Unilever bought U.S.-based Bestfoods for $24.3 billion in October, getting top-ranking food brands such as Knorr soups and Hellmann’s mayonnaise, but also a number of smaller secondary food brands that did not fit into its strategy of focusing on leading brands.

Unilever Chairman Niall FitzGerald told shareholders earlier in May that the company would focus on brands that held the top two positions in their individual markets.